Ball State University
Brigham Young University
No. 10 Men's Volleyball Travels to No. 9 BYU For Two Matches
February 03, 2022 | Men's Volleyball
No. 10 Ball State (4-0, 0-0 MIVA) vs. No. 9 BYU (4-2, 0-0 MPFS)
Friday, Feb. 4Â & Saturday, Feb. 5Â | Provo, Utah | Smith Fieldhouse | 9 pm ET
Watch | Live StatsÂ
Last meeting: BYU 3, Ball State 0 (1/12/19)
Series History: BYU leads the all-time series 16-3
NEW ERA: First-year head coach Donan Cruz has started the year off strong so far this season leading the Cardinals to five-straight wins, which includes back-to-back victories over No. 1 Hawai'i … Prior to taking over the helm of the Cardinals, Cruz was a four-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Coach of the Year at Grand View University (IA) … Just the fourth head coach in the storied history of Ball State men's volleyball, Cruz led the inaugural Grand View men's team to a 13-13 mark in 2012 season, on his way to compiling a 211-55 overall record with the Vikings … He concluded his Grand View career with the best winning percentage in NAIA men's volleyball history at .793.
ALSO NEW ON THE STAFF: Joining Cruz on the Ball State staff are Midwestern Volleyball Association (MIVA) standout and former Lewis University star Mike Iandolo and BYU men's volleyball alumnus Christian Rupert … Iandolo was a two-time All-MIVA First Team selection and spent the last three season as the head coach at the University of Charleston … Rupert helped lead the Cougars to a pair of appearances in the NCAA Division I/II Men's Volleyball Championship Match, and following a brief professional career, spent two seasons as a volunteer assistant at Princeton.
SCOUTING BYU: BYU was ranked just one spot higher than the Cardinals in the latest AVCA Men's Volleyball Coaches poll, coming in at No. 9. The Cougars enter Friday's match against the Cardinals with a 4-2 ledger after suffering two losses at the start of the season against Penn State. BYU then rebounded by winning four-straight matches - two against UC Irvine and two against the University of Mount Olive. BYU is led offensively by freshman outside hitter Mike Ramanis with 59 kills on the season and a .410 hitting percentage. BYU is talented defensively, averaging 2.20 blocks per set this season.
CARDINAL RECAP: The Cardinals are on a roll, winning their first five contests of the season. Ball State is coming off of back-to-back victories over No. 1 Hawai'i. On Saturday, the Cardinals earned a 3-0 sweep over the Rainbow Warriors. Senior outside attacker Kaleb Jenness led Ball State offensively with a 19-kill performance. In Ball State's rematch on Monday against Hawai'i, the Cardinals and the Rainbow Warriors went to five sets. Senior setter Quinn Isaacson served an ace for match point in the fifth set to lift Ball State past Hawai'i, 3-2.Â
JENNESS EARNS ALL-MIVA HONORS: Ball State senior outside hitter Kaleb Jenness (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando) has been tabbed the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) offensive player of the week. Jenness helped the Cardinals make history Saturday night as he led Ball State offensively with 19 kills and a .467 hitting percentage from 30 swings against No. 1 Hawai'i, helping BSU pull off the 3-0 sweep. It was the Cardinals' first victory over the Rainbow Warriors since Jan. 13, 2011. The win also marked Ball State's first over a No. 1 ranked team since 1995 when the Cardinals upset UCLA on March 3 in three sets in Springfield, Mass.Â
FUN FACT: When the Cardinals play at BYU, it will be a homecoming for assistant coach Christian Rupert. Rupert was a middle blocker for BYU from 2015-2018. He helped the Cougars make appearances in the NCAA Championship match in 2016 and 2017 and reach the semifinals in 2018. Rupert was a member of three Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) regular season championships (2016, 2017, & 2018) and also won two MPSF Tournament titles (2016 & 2018).
NEXT MATCH: Ball State will open Mid-Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) play on Friday, Feb. 10 at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. at 8 pm ET. Ironically, current Ball State assistant coach Mike Iandolo was a standout player for the Flyers. During his career as a Flyer, Iandolo was a three-time Delahnty Award winner and MIVA Academic All-Conference selection at the setter position. He was also a two-time All-MIVA First Team selection. After his playing days with the Flyers, Iandolo spent the 2012-13 campaign as a graduate assistant coach for his alma mater
